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definitions

duplicate

[noun, adjective doo-pli-kit, dyoo-; verb doo-pli-keyt, dyoo-]
See more synonyms for duplicate on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a copy exactly like an original.
  2. anything corresponding in all respects to something else.
  3. Cards. a duplicate game.
verb (used with object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.
  1. to make an exact copy of.
  2. to do or perform again; repeat: He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.
  3. to double; make twofold.
verb (used without object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.
  1. to become duplicate.
adjective
  1. exactly like or corresponding to something else: duplicate copies of a letter.
  2. consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.
  3. Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.
Idioms
  1. in duplicate, in two copies, especially two identical copies: Please type the letter in duplicate.

Origin of duplicate

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre to make double), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex) duplex + -ātus -ate1
Related formsdu·pli·ca·tive, adjectivenon·du·pli·cat·ing, adjectivenon·du·pli·ca·tive, adjectivepre·du·pli·cate, verb (used with object), pre·du·pli·cat·ed, pre·du·pli·cat·ing.qua·si-du·pli·cate, adjectiveself-du·pli·cat·ing, adjectiveun·du·pli·cat·ed, adjectiveun·du·pli·ca·tive, adjective

Synonyms for duplicate

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1. facsimile, replica, reproduction. 4. See imitate. 9. twofold.

Antonyms for duplicate

1. original.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for duplicate

replication, photocopy, replica, duplication, imitate, clone, reproduce, replicate, mirror, copy, corresponding, duplex, equivalent, equal, same, twin, similarity, ringer, fellow, dupe

Examples from the Web for duplicate

Contemporary Examples of duplicate

Historical Examples of duplicate

  • It might have been the parlor of the White Springs Hotel in duplicate, plush self-rocker and all.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • I want you to help me get them out, and not duplicate yours.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • He and Jenkins had duplicate keys to the desks, letter-box, etc.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • If you pass the physical test, perhaps you can duplicate my record.

  • Without a word he sat down also, in a duplicate of their pose.

    Louisiana Lou

    William West Winter

British Dictionary definitions for duplicate

duplicate

adjective (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)
  1. copied exactly from an original
  2. identical
  3. existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold
noun (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)
  1. an exact copy; double
  2. something additional or supplementary of the same kind
  3. two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate)
verb (ˈdjuːplɪˌkeɪt)
  1. (tr) to make a replica of
  2. (tr) to do or make again
  3. (tr) to make in a pair; make double
  4. (intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical partsthe chromosomes duplicated in mitosis
Derived Formsduplicable (ˈdjuːplɪkəbəl), adjectiveduplicability, nounduplicately, adverbduplicative, adjective

Word Origin for duplicate

C15: from Latin duplicāre to double, from duo two + plicāre to fold
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for duplicate
adj.

mid-15c., "having two parts, double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare "to double," from duo "two" (see two) + plicare "to fold" see ply (v.1)). Meaning "exactly corresponding, that is an exact copy of" is from 1812.

v.

1620s, "to double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare (see duplicate (adj.)). Meaning "make an exact copy" is from 1640s (implied in duplicated). Related: Duplicating. The noun is first recorded 1530s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper